"Horses for courses" computed tomography or predicted total lung capacity for size matching in lung transplantation

James D McMenimen; Jason M Gauthier; Varun Puri; Rodrigo Vazquez Guillamet

doi:10.1016/j.ajt.2024.02.004

"Horses for courses" computed tomography or predicted total lung capacity for size matching in lung transplantation

Am J Transplant. 2024 Feb 10:S1600-6135(24)00130-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajt.2024.02.004. Online ahead of print.

Authors

James D McMenimen¹, Jason M Gauthier², Varun Puri², Rodrigo Vazquez Guillamet³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
² Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
³ Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Electronic address: r.vazquezguillamet@wustl.edu.

PMID: 38346500
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajt.2024.02.004

Abstract

Size-matching donors to recipients in lung transplantation continues to be a clinical challenge. Predicted total lung capacity equations, or more simply, donor and recipient heights, while widely used, are imprecise and may not be representative of the pool of donors and recipients. These inherent limitations may result in size discrepancies. The advent of easily accessible software and the widespread availability of computed tomography (CT) imaging in donor assessments have made it possible to directly measure lung volumes in donors and recipients. As a result, there is a growing interest in adopting personalized CT volumetry as an alternative. This article explores both methods and underscores the potential benefits and precision offered by CT.

Keywords: computed tomography; donor assessment; lung transplantation; predicted total lung capacity; size matching.